PRO FOOTBALL

PRO FOOTBALL; Jets, One Ailing Bunch, Regroup and Take Shot at Post-Season

By GERALD ESKENAZI

Published: December 14, 1997

The Jets -- battered along the offensive line, and with a quarterback pounded incessantly and a running back having difficulty making it to the line of scrimmage -- will try today somehow to keep alive what has been a magical season.

They go into the next-to-last Sunday of the regular season in mathematical contention. But their playoff chances are fragile: they can be eliminated today by losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-5) at Giants Stadium. However, they remain alive if they win and any one of three other clubs -- New England, Miami or Jacksonville -- loses this weekend. If the Patriots, Dolphins and Jaguars all win, the Jets (8-6) are eliminated no matter how they fare against the Bucs.

That scenario of failure seemed remote two weeks ago, when the Jets were 8-4. But then injuries struck many of their best players on the front line. Today, the Jets will have to make do with rookies at left tackle and left guard, a backup at right tackle and with a core of players who, except for Keyshawn Johnson, have been stumbling on offense.

In the last three games, Johnson has caught 21 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown. In the same three games, running back Adrian Murrell's total rushing yardage has plummeted from 97 to 27 to 9. Quarterback Neil O'Donnell's completion rate in those games has gone from 64.7 percent to 53 to 43.

The Jets have not given up on the run. They will try to make it work, and in the Bucs they face a defensive line that they outweigh by 25 pounds a man. But if it does not work, then O'Donnell may look for Johnson.

''In certain situations I try to get him the ball,'' O'Donnell said. ''I'm not looking just for him. I go by my reads. That's how I approach my reads and how I always did.''

But it is obvious that Johnson is in the mix lately with designated plays in which he is the primary target.

''Let me ask you,'' the irrepressible Johnson said, not really asking, ''who do you think should get the ball?''

Since O'Donnell took over for the injured Glenn Foley against Chicago three games ago, the team has worked with him to get rid of his passes more quickly.

''Believe me, we have tried for the past three or four weeks,'' Coach Bill Parcells said. ''The whole intent of our offense has been to do that.''

Parcells acknowledged that circumstances have created a different offensive plan, that the Jets have gone from being one of the highest-scoring teams in the league to one that depends on the defense and special teams to create big plays. In the last two games, the offense has scored three touchdowns and lost the ball three times, while the defense has created only two turnovers.

Now, the Jets have to play a tighter game without being tight. They must prevent the parade of sacks that have felled O'Donnell.

''We've got to get some hope offensively,'' Parcells said. ''The hardest kind of defense to play is when your offense isn't helping you.''

Over the summer, Parcells decided that the Jets would not try to be a top-heavy running offense. Instead, the offensive plan would feature passing, trick plays and more fourth-down attempts than any other team.

''I know I could have been adamant in running the ball,'' Parcells said. ''But our defense isn't geared that way. We had to score points.''

Now that the offense is slumping again, Parcells said, ''We've regressed, and it's made me rethink what we do.''

Among the likely changes, if Murrell cannot get very far rushing, will be an ultraconservative offense led by O'Donnell. The quarterback will have more three-step and five-step drops, perhaps keeping someone in the backfield to block for him.

That creates a pressure-cooker mentality for everyone.

''When you have a line that isn't used to playing together, you want to get open more quickly; it's on your mind,'' receiver Wayne Chrebet said. ''It kind of reminds me when I was a rookie and we had that problem of protection. I'd run 12-yard routes, but I'd

only go 10 1/2 yards to make sure I was open.''

Center Roger Duffy now snaps the ball and is thinking he has to engage the Bucs' defensive tackles immediately, rather than sit back in pass-protection mode.

''On a three-step drop, because Neil is so close to the line, you've got to make sure the defense has its hands down so they can't block the pass,'' Duffy said. ''You have to be more aggressive, get the defenders in the chest.''

Duffy added: ''The Bucs all have good motors. They'll blitz from anyplace.''

Tampa Bay, which has post-season thoughts of its own today, can also stop the run. The Bucs, who have generated 41 sacks, have had seven games against runners who are members of the 1,000-yard club. The Lions' Barry Sanders was the only one who produced more than 54 yards -- and he had his 215-yard day after being held to 20 yards the first time the teams met this season.

By beating the Jets, the Bucs can clinch their first playoff spot since the 1982 strike-shortened season, their last winning season. Tampa Bay can also qualify for the 1997 post-season this weekend if two of the following occur: a Washington loss to the Giants, a Detroit loss or tie, or a Carolina loss or tie.

In an ideal world, the Jets would not be starting the rookie Kerry Jenkins at left tackle, only two weeks after the Bears cut him from their practice squad.

Why couldn't the Jets have an experienced player at the critical position? ''I've already got $7 million in left tackles,'' Parcells said. ''Where should I go, down to the left-tackle flea market and get another one for another million dollars?''

Then again, Lamont Burns makes his second start at left guard, a fact hardly lost on an experienced Tampa Bay defensive line.

''That's the way it is in football,'' Parcells said, reflecting on season-ending injuries to left tackle Jumbo Elliott and left guard William Roberts, while right tackle David Williams has been sidelined indefinitely with back spasms. ''That's why it's a humbling game. That's why you don't look past this week.''

Photo: Quarterback Neil O'Donnell, along with his battered offensive line, will try to steer the Jets away from elimination against the Buccaneers today. (Barton Silverman/The New York Times)